OCD: Die Hard 2's Marvin

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Die Harder's unsung hero is still waiting on that lining for his coat.

By Christopher Monfette

Welcome back to Obscure Character of the day, the feature where we break down some of the most memorable bit players in the world of pop culture. This week, and leading up to the 11/20 release of Live Free or Die Hard on DVD, OCD celebrates the Die Hard legacy, putting John McClane's world under the OCD spotlight. If you have a suggestion for an OCD, send it in!

With so many terminals, thru-ways, checkpoints and gates, getting around any modern airport can be enough of a hassle without the minor inconvenience of military terrorists trying to rescue an imprisoned South American warlord. So if you're John McClane, and airport security is keeping you out of the loop - and you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherf*@ker in the airport - you're going to need someone to who knows the lay of the land.

An odd cross between an airport maintenance worker and a homeless man trying to keep warm in the steam tunnels, Marvin seems to have three great loves in his vagabond life: his maps, his coat and some 1950's mood-music for his hula-girl figure to dance to Thankfully, his rather slipshod filing system proved pretty useful in guiding McClane to some of the airport's more explosive locations - like the Annex Skywalk or an oddly-placed, difficult-to-open hatch in the middle of a busy runway.

But perhaps Marvin's most useful ability is his talent for scavenging - especially those items which can commonly be found in the vicinity of dead terrorists. The specially-tuned walkie-talkie, which just happened to be sitting, rather ignored, beneath a thick pile of maps on Marvin's desk, proved to be McClane's best method for listening in on the terrorist plot.

For that alone, we here at OCD hope that McClane made good on his promise to provide Marvin a new lining for his coat.